Board & Batten, On The Cheap

This month’s Lowe’s challenge is a room makeover. In the interest of keeping posts a manageable length, I’ll be breaking it up.

I’ve been meaning to get to Macy’s room since, oh, this post. Let me refresh your memory with where we’re headed:

Let me also show you where we started:

Macy would like the record to show that the American Girl dolls had been moved to a bin in the garage. She’s practically 12 now. Geez.

As you can see at the top of the picture on the left, we already had some decorative molding about 6 feet up on the walls. We’d also put up some flower wall decals above the molding. They took massive amounts of the wall down with them.

(This is after I started spackling. I love the kind that goes on pink and changes to white when it’s dry. I tend to get a little impatient when it’s time to sand.)

After some massive spackling and sanding, it was time to paint.

The bottom portion of the walls is a semi-gloss paint that I had Lowe’s tint to match the trim in my house.

I picked up 2 gallons of the white, but I probably could have gotten by with one. 1 gallon of the Icy Mint was enough for the top portion of the walls and the entire ceiling (which was previously builder beige).

I looked at the selection of moldings and trims at Lowe’s, but they were all in the $3-6 per piece range. I knew I needed at least 30, maybe more (depending on spacing) and that was going to eat up my budget FAST. So, I needed another option. I channeled my pal Mandi and decided to use her method for board & batten…having MDF plywood cut into strips. When I got over to the lumber section, I discovered that the thinnest MDF was thicker than I was after. You see, I didn’t want the B&B to stick our further than my existing molding and baseboards. So, I went for some super cheap plywood that I believe was 5mm thick. I had BC take it to his crate shop and cut it into 3” strips for me (the same width as my existing molding) on the big daddy panel saw. The entire room took 2 pieces of plywood, or about $22….WAY better than $3-6 per piece of molding, right? It WAS a little bit prickly on the edges, so I sanded the edges of the pieces with an electric sander before I got started.

For purposes of this room, I decided to center a B&B strip under the window, lined up with an outlet. This is where your eye goes when you walk into the room and was therefore the wall I needed to have look the best.

Once I had the strip centered under the window, I decided on spacing for the rest of the strips. I went with 15”. BC says he would have gone for 12”, but I was the one doing all the work, so I won. (Yes, that means I did all the sanding, cutting, and nail gunning. Surprised? ) I cut a scrap piece of wood to 15” in length and used that to space the rest of my strips. The only time that didn’t work out was when I got to a corner.

I just measured 15” along the baseboard and then leveled out the first strip on the new wall.

I used 3 tubes of DAP’s vinyl spackle to caulk the edges and some more of the DryDex I used to patch the wall holes to get the B&B ready to paint. I applied 2-ish coats of paint to the strips using a Purdy brush (they’re the best).

And I’m kind of in love.

Here’s a shot of the corner where I ended after moving out in both directions from under the window.

Next up?

Doing something about this:

($25 thrift store find)

and this:

($50 thrift store find)

and a headboard involving a pallet and an outdoor light fixture. Also getting Macy’s mattress off the floor in my room.

Don’t forget to pick up a FREE Subscription to Lowe’s Creative Ideas Magazine:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOUUUUU…. for solving our dilemma! We have new baseboards, we want the look of board and batton, but my hubby doesn’t want pieces thinker than the baesboards! YOU my dear, are a dilemma solving GENIUS!!! GAH!! If you were in front of me I’d probably kiss square on the mouth! (not really.. but it felt like I should be overly dramatic here

The thrift store finds are, I think, what they call a “waterfall” style. My dad had a dresser like this in his room with matching bed and vanity/mirror since I can remember. Dad thinks he had it since maybe 1939, but I don’t know that for sure. I’d always loved that furniture and was honored to receive it for my bedroom set after both my grandparents were gone. It’s a treasure to me. However, it has been taken care of better than your dresser, it would seem. I’ll be curious to see what you do to these pieces. P.S. Love the b&b!

Absolutely love your old desk, dresser and the typewriter, too! Personally, I would leave both pieces as is….the room (now that it’s bright & fresh) can handle the darker wood & it has an authentic vintage feel. They look like they’re in great shape, too! Lucky girl!! :O)

The pictures are deceiving…that light spot on top of the dresser? Wood putty. Inside the dresser holding that wood putty in place? Duct tape. And the veneer is missing in several spots on the desk. I’ve got my work cut out for me. LOL!

Just found your site from Pinterest. I’ll be following along, would love to see what you do with that desk and dresser. I’ve got the matching set desk, tall boy dresser like yours, low boy dresser, and vanity. Unfortunetly the desk had a little to much love and recently went on the burn pile but the dressers are still at home. If case you are wondering my grandparents bought theres in the late 50′s (maybe early 60′s) and were still in the house when I moved in so that makes them mine.

Appreciating the dedication you put into your blog and in depth information you present.
It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a
while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material.
Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m adding your RSS
feeds to my Google account.

Connect with Me!

Sponsor Love

Search This Blog

Followers

Terms of Use

Feel free to link to or feature (no more than one image, please) any tutorials on this site, as long as credit is given. Tutorials are for personal (non-commercial) use only. For more information, see the details of my copyright way down at the bottom of the page!